This invention relates primarily to clothes hangers, especially those for slacks and skirts. More particularly, the invention relates to clamping jaw hangers. Typically, the clamping jaw hangers have a pair of jaws and an arm extending from each jaw, and the arms pivot with respect to each other to clamp or unclamp the jaws. Most hangers have a mechanism which serves to lock the jaws closed, and the jaws are either held open by the user or are biased open. The above hangers can be somewhat difficult to use. If two hands are used to hold the pants or skirt in a tight condition between the jaws, no free hand is left to close and lock the jaws. Moreover, in many of the above-described hangers, the handle includes the hanging hook. If the hanger is attempted to be opened or closed while still on the closet bar, the opening of the jaws can assume awkward orientations insofar as removing or hanging up the clothing. Oftentimes, the arms can often contact the closet bar and interfere with the opening and closing of the hanger. Therefore, the hanger must usually be removed from the closet bar.
Hangers have also been proposed which are clamped by a spring bias or the like and are opened by an internal mechanism. One of the problems with such mechanisms has been a tendency to interfere with the insertion of the clothes. However, it is also advantageous to design a hanger wherein insertion of the clothes automatically causes jaw locking. For example, in Bowman U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,022,295 and in Vigor 2,889,094, toggle mechanisms were provided between the arms. Unfortunately, there is a chance that the clothing can become pinched between the folding toggle arms. The Lasko, U.S. Pat. No. 3,606,228, hanger has a brace which falls into place to prevent the jaws from closing. However, either one jaw must be fixed to the wall or else two hands are needed to open the hanger. Cole U.S. Pat. No. 2,792,979 is similar.